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Greeks
The Greeks (Greek: Ἕλληνες) are a Hellenic ethnic group native to the countries of Greece and Cyprus. The ancient Greek people from the state of Athens have been renowned for creating the backbones of the unique political style of ruling known as democracy and for influencing the Romans and latter western civilizations. The Mycenaean, Minoan and Athenian people were arenowned for their rich glorious history in art, and in culinary skills, architecture; and advancements in the sciences such as astronomy and physics; mathematics and philosaphy. Greeks are also known for becoming prolific and influental playrights such as Homer who wrote the famous Illiad and Odyssey, although there is contrevoursy to his existance. His origins are currently unknown. Many of today's social traditions and inventions are accredited to the ancient Greeks. History 'Early History 6500-2900 B.C.' Evidence of human existence in what is now Greece have existed to as far as roughly 6500 B.C. During this era, hunters from the Stone Age introduced farming techniques and marriage of husbands and wives. Pottery made with stone became predominant in this era, along with the raising of livestock. Most of the settlement remains in the northern parts of Greece, which housed no more than 100 people. Most of the houses were made with stone and clay. Most were located anywhere where there was water or a body of water, like most civilizations in southern Europe and the Middle East, many settled along the Mediterranean Sea. They were never unified, as the natives of Greece gained power beginning with the Bronze Age, many tribes ruled their own city-state kingdoms. The Greek people were independent tribes in the western Balkans Peninsula, speaking very similar dialects in a language family known as the Hellenic family. Much of Greek history is also relied on legends and some accounts of ancient historians from Greece. 'Minoan & Mycenaean Era 2900 B.C.-1500 B.C.' In 2900 B.C., the use of the bronze metal introduced to the island of Crete in Aegean Sea. Colonies began to expand beyond 100 to about 300-1000 people. The natives of Greece began to use bronze to make weapons such as swords and knives. Additionally, people started to use gold, silver and lead which would later play a role in the role of the Greek tribes as the main powers in the Balkan Peninsula. The first two permanent civilizations to have successfully ruled the area were the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. According to the works of latter historian Homer, Minos (Ancient Greek: Μίνως) became the king of Crete. Minos later found the civilization named after, known as the "Minoans" who were known for seafaring skills. The Minoans soared in the fields of art, using terracotta clay for their ceramics. The Minoans also used sea shells and gems for their art to make jewelry. In mainland Greece, came the Myceneans who thrived in the Aegean region. The Mycenaeans had a fairly similar existence as the Minoans, they too, also soured in the field of art and enjoyed some wealth. The Mycenaean and Minoan city-state kingdoms became trading partners in the region. Eventually, the Myceneans ended up invading the Minoans. A group known as the Dorians took power through conquest, as state by ancient Greek sources. During the Dorian conquest in 1100 B.C., iron and steel weapons replaced bronze weapons. 'Kingdom of Macedon circa 800 B.C.-146 B.C.' In the northern part of the Balkans Peninsula, came a man by the name of Caranus (Greek: Κάρανος). According to Greek mythological contexts, he was the first king of what would later become the state of Macedon, which is under debate as to whether it was a Greek civilization or not, though it was a Hellenic kingdom. The state of Macedon rose to prominence under Philip II, who became king of the Macedonian state as a result of inherited royalty. Phillip II led to the growth of the Macedonian army, giving them cavalry as well as longer spears and shields. Philip II led the Macedonians to conquer a civilization known as the Illyrians, who were not Greeks but rather had a culture much similar to the Greek people. The Macedonian armies also conquered the Athenians, who were renowned for their beautiful temples and a generally powerful navy. After taking the city of Thessaly, Philip II began to dominate the politics of ancient Greece. After Phillip II, came his heir to the thrown, which was nobody other than the man known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας), or Alexander III of Macedon. Under Alexander, the Greeks began to experience the military drama known as the rivalry with the Persians. While Phillip II conquered northern Greece, Alexander III's military skills and war-nature allowed him to extend the borders of Macedon way beyond the Balkans Peninsula into North Africa and Asia Minor. In 333 B.C., the Macedonian army clashed with the Persian army, led by King Darius III. At the time, the Persians were the most feared military power in the Middle East, King Darius III was the most feared ruler. Alexander did not fear Darius and fought him at will. Despite being a military power, different Greek tribes joined either side, those who opposed Macedon's ever growing threat and joined Darius III's army. Those who came to collaborate or were conquered by Alexander such as the Thracians and Illyrians fought in the Macedonian army. The Macedonians used a popular Greek method of war known as the phalanx (Greek: φάλαγγα) in which an entire group of heavily armed and armored men, with large spears and shields use their weight to "bulldoze" the opposing army. All sides of the army are covered with shields and piking out with spears, including the tops and heads of soldiers many times. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Macedonians defeated the Persians in a decisive victory, a scene which resulted in Darius III fleeing. His wife and kids were left behind. Despite his war-natures, Alexander was an understanding and kind man who studied the cultures of the conquered civilizations. He treated Darius III's wife and kids with respect and became the Lord of Asia. Later, Darius III would still try to defeat Alexander all ending in subsequent failures. In 331 B.C., Alexander moved to Egypt, another Persian state. The Egyptians, having despised Persian rule, invited the Macedonian armies in. Alexander became the Pharaoh of Egypt. In June 10/11, 332 B.C., Alexander the Great died of flu. Historians are still puzzled as what caused it, rivaling sources point out different causes such as rebellious poisoning or a bug bite. The height and power of Macedon died along with Alexander, the kingdom was split into two allowing some of the other Greek city-state to rebuild independent kingdoms. Alexander's legacy lives on, not only to the Greek people but to the people of Asia Minor and Egypt as well. 'Athenian & Spartan Golden Age 500 B.C.-146 A.D.' In an era known as the "Archaic Period" came the prospering of Greece as a thriving society with a powerful land army and navy. The head bust of SocratesGreek people also experienced a new age in reasoning and even new way of governing known later as democracy. The Greeks experienced rapid advancements in mathematics, astronomy and architecture - which were most evident in the state of Athens which came from a long line of teachers and their students. A philosopher by the name of Socrates (Greek: Σωκράτης) introduced the backbones of what man would call democracy. Socrates was known for his stubborn and endless questioning. Socrates questioned religious authorities about the world's existence and creation. One of Socrates's students, Plato (Πλάτων) extended his teachings and philosophies. Plato helped contribute to mathematics. One of Plato's students, Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης) became a polymath. The Athenians also expanded their love of entertainment. Aeschylus (Αἰσχύλος) is accredited for writing plays known as "tragedies", heroic epics that end up in death. Other prolific tragedy playwrights include Sophocles and Euripides. These are three are known as the "Great Three Tragedians of Athens". The abundance of gold only helped fuel what historians would call the "golden age" of Athens. An example of this architecture would be the Parthenon, which housed a big statue of the goddess Athena made with gold and ivory. The city-state "Athens" was named after Athena, who according to Greek legend, killed the monster by the name of Medusa who turned anybody who looked at it into stone. Sports also emerged as a popular activity around this time. The Athenians would compete with other Greek kingdoms in a series of sports, the most popular being the marathon which originated from the Athenian civilization. At this time, Athena was one of the region's powers, after Alexander III's death, the southern Balkans underwent retaliance invasions against the Persians, a seemingly endless rivalry. Pheidippides, a Greek messenger ran back to Athens from the region of Marathon to announce the Athenian victory over the Persians before collapsing and dying. The Greeks and latter Romans carried on this tradition which became the popular running sport event known as marathons today. This competition between city-states became known as the Olympics, after the region of Olympia in Athens. A month before the games, each city-state gave each other temporary truces, because there was no unity among Greece (other than the cultural means) and Greece was often in a de facto civil war between civilizations. Chariot racing, javelin and discus were also popular sports, men often wore military gear and carried shields. However, unlike today's Olympics, the ancient Greek games lacked safety rules and sports often were graphic. The pankration was a wrestling game, the only rules were no biting or poking eyes. Boxing was also popular, although competitors would wear thin gloves made of leather, even after knocking out the opponent, was still able to hit. The Athenians used gold coins as a means of monetary use. Meanwhile in the kingdom of Sparta, the "golden age" was not because of temples, philosophy, gold statues, wealth or any of the sort, but in fact the opposite. Spartans despised all of the above mentioned, it's "golden age" was rather in its military. Joining the military was part of Spartan life, and the central theme to Spartan society. In Sparta, a new-born baby would be inspected if he or she was fit to fight, to carry a shield and a sword or spear. If found unfit, the baby was left out in the open to die. If found fit, the child would live with his/her parents for seven years. At age seven, the child would be taken away. Training was very brutal in the military, it involved graphic practices such as wrestling and fighting nakedly out in the cold. The person is also beaten if he didn't train right. Many soldiers died in the training itself rather than the battling, if a soldier was ever sent home because he was unfit, he would be discouraged and banned from ever returning home. At last, the soldier is finally knighted by his mentor and thus go to serve in the Spartan army. Lavish life was of no concern with the Spartans, their monetary unit were bars of iron. Other Greek city-states that generally prospered as well were Corinthin, Argos and Megara. 'War with Persia 400-450 B.C.' An example served by Alexander the Great, the military and naval strength of Sparta and Athens were finally going to be tested. The Persian army, having recovered and once-more becoming Asia Minor's feared military power came back to threaten the Hellenic civilizations once more. This spurred another period of unity among the Athenians, Spartans and other Greek city-states. A reminiscent of Darius III, King Xerxes I became Persia's and Asia Minor's most feared army leader who had to deal with a feisty Greek army standing in his way. The King of Sparta, Leonidas led a coalition force of not only Spartans but other Greek armies as well, such as the Athenians and Locrians. Leonidas was a brutal military leader, although kind-hearted he proved himself unstoppable. Leonidas used phalanx warfare to gain an advantage against the larger Persian army. In 480 B.C., King Xerxes threatened to "send a rain of arrows" against the Spartans if they didn't submit to Persia. This did happen, due to the heavy armor of the phalanx, the arrows did not penetrate the shields and proved to be useless against the tiny Spartan army consisting of only 300 men! The two armies met in Thermopylae, a coastal pass. Because of phalanx warfare, the tiny Spartan force was able to hold off the Persians for months. Every Spartan fought to the complete death which resulted in many Persian retreats and failed attempts to re-invade Greece. Eventually, the Greeks were defeated which resulted in a bare and costly Persian victory. Despite losing the battle, the Battle of Thermopylae slowed the Persians down enough to give the Athenian navy time to prepare, it also proved Sparta to be truly unstoppable. Athen's king, Themistocles arranged a naval only consisting of about 378 ships at the most, the Persian navy had roughly 1,200 ships at the most. Persian naval forces entered the Strait of Salamis to try choking the Greek land forces. Despite this, the Athenian navy crushed the Persian navy, 300 Persian ships were sunk. In 479 B.C., a reinforcement of more than 100,000 Spartans and their allied Greek brethren defeated Persian armies in the Battle of Platea. After the Salamis and Platea defeat, King Xerxes I finally fled and retreated back to Asia Minor. Thanks to the Spartan slowdown of the Persians and the Athenian naval victory, the Greeks were once-more able to stop the Persian juggernaut. 'Peloponnesian War 431-404 B.C.' Unfortunately, the unity that resulted from the war against Persia was temporary. The Athenians continued to build their navy, annexing islands in the Aegean Sea as Athenian states. Sparta also was rebuilding its military and annexing states on land, the two remained the leading powers of southern Balkans Peninsula. Hostilities began to boil between Athens and Sparta, especially when Athens became allies with Corcyra, a Spartan enemy. Pericles (Περικλῆς) was the Athenian leader at the time, who tried to solve disputes with Sparta without through diplomatic means which failed. Soldiers from the state of Thebes, a Spartan puppet, attacked Platea, a puppet of Athens. As the Spartans approached Attica, surrounding Athens; Athenian naval forces attacked Spartan shipping and trade and their allies' coasts. In 429 B.C., Pericles was killed from a disease that literally killed much of its army and people. Despite this, the Athenians did enjoy some victories over Sparta, especially at sea. However in 415 B.C., the Athenians experienced a horrible decade of fighting with Sparta, which they ultimately lost. Spartans also used Athens's allies against them. In 413, the Athenian navy was beginning to weaken which only worsened the situation. In 411 B.C., the navy was rebuilt and halted an attempt to overthrow democracy. Lysander finally defeated the Athenian navy in 405 B.C. with Persian collaborators. The Athenian defeat took its toll on the Greeks' status as a power. The war also brought an initial end to the golden age that had once flourished in Athens. 'Roman Annexation 168 B.C.-364 A.D.' 'Christianization & Byzantine Empire 170 A.D.-600 A.D.' 'Ottoman Annexation 1400-1821 A.D.' 'World War I and World War II' Religion Language Art and Architecture 'Art' 'Architecture' Cuisine Notable Greeks of People of Greek Origin